Crossing the Line
by JoeMerl
Summary: Thanks to Heather's treachery, Lindsay is about to be kicked off the island...unless a certain techno-geek has something to say about it. Main pairing: Cody/Lindsay. Side pairings: Noah/Gwen, Ezekiel/Bridgette and Duncan/Leshawna. Dedicated to Winter-Rae.
1. Chapter 1: Partners

**Crossing the Line**

**Title: **Crossing the Line

**Summary: **Thanks to Heather's treachery, Lindsay is about to be kicked off the island...unless a certain techno-geek has something to say about it.

**Disclaimer:** The characters and plot of this story are taken from blah blah blah come on we all know the drill, is this really necessary?

**Pairings: **Main: Cody/Lindsay, Side: Noah/Gwen, Ezekiel/Bridgette and Duncan/Leshawna.

**Warnings:** Crack pairings that may make some people cry. Also, mild language and dialogue inappropriate for small children, but overall, not any worse than the actual show.

**JoeMerl: **This story is dedicated to **Winter-Rae, **the great crack-pairing artist; the main pairing is my own idea, but this story is specifically written because I kind of wanted to imitate her style. (Hey, I'm even doing the Author's Notes like her!) However, unlike most of her stories, this one is multichaptered and mostly written in the first-person (Cody's point of view). Basically this is an AU version of the episode "That's Off the Chain!" The sudden breaks with the script format represent Confession Can segments. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Crossing the Line**

**Chapter One: Partners**

"_Aaaggghhh…_"

Noah's hands tightened on his book. "Eighteen."

"Huh?" I looked up, startled out of my thoughts.

"Eighteen, Cody. That is the number of times you've sighed in the last half hour. Have you ever listened to someone sigh eighteen times in thirty minutes? It gets really, _really_ annoying."

"Okay, jeez, sorry."

Noah grimaced and returned to his book. Rolling my eyes a little, I turned back around to stare across the beach, to the dock where Lindsay was sitting, swinging a flyswatter at an annoying bug. I grinned, letting my head rest in my hand. I felt like I could just sit there, watching her all day…

"_NINETEEN, _Cody! _NINETEEN!_"

"Noah man, really, calm down. I mean, you could read that thing through a hurricane without breaking your concentration and somehow a few little breaths of air manage to---" Suddenly I broke off, my eyes still on the dock. I let out a grin. "Oh---"

Lindsay, in her continuing quest to nail the fly, had absentmindedly swatted Heather in the face. I giggled. Even Noah had to snicker. "Well, then. Go Lindsay."

"Yeah, isn't she---hey!"

My eyes widened as I turned back to the dock; Heather had taken the flyswatter from Lindsay's hand and gave her a few small (but still very rude) slaps on the nose with it. Lindsay drew back in surprise, while Heather sat up and put her foot in Lindsay's lap. Lindsay made a face, but a moment later started giving Heather a pedicure.

I gaped, motioning across the beach. "_Ugh! _Can you _believe_ that?!"

Noah, however, was far from indignant; he snickered again. "Well, you can't say Heather doesn't know how to get payback," he muttered, burying his face back into his book.

I glared at him. Turning back to stare at the dock, I reached out and slapped the book out of his hands, dropping it onto the sand.

"Hey!" Noah snatching it back up. "What's your problem? Oh yeah," he muttered, and I didn't have to look to know he was rolling his eyes. "Your little _thing_ for Britney Spears over there."

"Don't make fun of Lindsay!" I snapped. Then, after a moment, "Or Britney Spears! She's been through a lot."

"Oh, _whatever._" He opened his book and hid behind it again. "Do you even know how ridiculous you look, sitting there all day and just _watching _her like some sort of insane stalker?"

"I don't do that."

"Really? You've been doing it for more than an hour now."

"I have not!"

"What time is it?"

"It's nine o'…" I checked my watch, then frowned. "…Oh. It's after ten already? Okay, fine, I'm obsessed." I sat back down, letting a smile crawl back over my face. "But can you blame me? Even filing Heather's toenails, she looks like some sort of beautiful angel…"

"And here comes sigh number twenty." He looked up from his book, following my gaze across the beach to where Lindsay and Heather were sitting. "You know, she's not _even_ that good-looking."

I spun around, gaping at him. "'Not that good-looking?!' Are you blind, man?! She's _perfect._ What with that hair, that smile, those enchanting blue eyes…"

"A chest that weighs more than her head…"

"Hey! Have some respect for the lady!" I snapped, even as my eyes drifted back over, trying to estimate whether or not that was true.

"Oh, admit it. You only like her because she looks like she just waltzed off the cover of a fashion magazine." He turned a page of his book and allowed a rare, small smile to cross his face. "I like _my_ girls with a bit more personality, myself…"

"I would think you'd be happy I'm not into Gwen anymore."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because really, you were _such_ stiff competition..."

"And besides, I do _not_ just like Lindsay because she's good-looking. I mean, have you ever stopped and _talked_ to her?"

"Yes. It was remarkably similar to conversations I've had with my five-year-old niece."

"Now, see? There you go making fun of her, but I bet she's never said anything bad about you…on purpose," I added, with a slight shrug. "That's what I mean. Haven't you ever noticed how nice she is? How cool she is to everyone? I mean---she's like, this beautiful, rich, popular, _amazing_ girl, and she just treats everyone so _perfectly._ Even _Heather._" I released Sigh #21 out, turning back to watch her toil on Heather's nails. "I've never met _anyone_ as cool as her."

"Hmm. Too bad she has the IQ of your average garden snail."

I turned to glare at him again, and for a moment I seriously considered snatching his book again and throwing it into the lake. Luckily, the loudspeaker started up before I could make such a mistake, emitting a shrill screech before Chris' cheery voice boomed out.

"Morning, campers! Your next challenge awaits you at the Arts and Crafts Center."

"Arts and Crafts?" I said, standing up and brushing sand from my jeans. "Sweet! That sounds much less suicidal than usual!"

"Hmph. It's still Chris picking the challenge," Noah muttered, rising to his feet and following me across the camp. Before going, though, I let my eyes wander back to where Lindsay, looking relieved to have a reason to cancel Heather's foot treatment, was smiling as she walked down the dock.

"Man, she has a great smile," I sighed, as Noah grumbled "Twenty-two" under his breath.

* * *

"Welcome to the Arts and Crafts Center," Chris said, motioning to the small shack.

"More like the Arts and _Crap _Center," Duncan grumbled. Leshawna turned and gave him a look, and he instinctively winced as she raised her hand as if to slap him.

"_Yeeaah._ It use to be an outhouse, but now it's where Chef parks his road-hog."

Chris turned and suddenly kicked in the door; Duncan, Ezekiel and I immediately got up to look inside, marveling at the beautiful, pristine motorcycle parked incongruously in the room. Noah and the girls didn't seem very interested; in fact Noah, when I turned back, was trying to snake his arm around Gwen's waist, only to have his hand repeatedly slapped away. Both of them wore expressions halfway between annoyed and amused.

"Which brings us to your challenge," Chris said, as we all turned back to him. "Building your _own wheels._"

"Motorcycles?" I said, feeling another grin break out over my face.

"Not quite," Chris said, motioning to a pile of scrap metal off to the side---handlebars, wheels and bars that looked way too scrawnier than Chef's bike.

"Bicycles?" Ezekiel asked, as Bridgette reached over his shoulder to pull his finger out of his nose, looking annoyed.

"Correctamundo, Zeke my man. Once you've collected the basics, you can trick them out anyway you want with props from the Arts and Crafts Center." He put a camouflage helmet on as he got into his ATV. "Best design wins! And, to prove I'm a nice guy, I'm even throwing in a bike manual."

He threw it casually over one shoulder as he drove away; Heather caught it. "Ew! It's furry!" she screamed, throwin' it away; I let out a cry as it hit me in the chest.

"_Oof!_" I examined it. "It's just some mold spores."

"_Uch. _Freak." She turned back to the Arts and Craft Center. "We get first dibs."

* * *

"Ugh. This is like shop class," Noah muttered, digging through the pile of broken bike pieces and grimacing at each one. "Except without a doctor's notes to get me out of it."

I raised an eyebrow. "How do you get a doctor's note to get out _before _shop class?"

"Balsa wood allergy."

Ezekiel pulled a rusty bike's body out of the pile. "Hey, Coody, do you think this looks stable?"

"Huh?" I glanced up. "Uh…yeah, I guess." I pulled out a pair of handlebars. "Hmm…"

"Okay, that scrawny little white girl is getting on my _last_ nerve!"

I looked up as Leshawna stormed over, arms crossed angrily over her chest, Gwen and Bridgette walking slightly behind her.

"What's the matter?"

"Heather and Lindsay are hogging the Arts and Crafts Center," Bridgette muttered, rolling her eyes. "Heather won't let anybody else in until they're done picking out what they want." She shrugged, then looked down at the pile." So, how you boys doing over here?"

"Ugh. Most of this crap looks older than I am," Noah grumbled, tossing a wheel down angrily.

"It shooldn't be too hard though, eh?" Ezekiel asked, down on his haunches as he dug through the mass of parts.

"You know anything about this kind of thing, Zeke?" Bridgette asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, my dad's taught me a bit about mechanics and stuff," he said, shrugging. "Building a bike can't be too much harder than fixing a tractor, can it?"

Bridgette scoffed. "I have no idea. I can barely _ride_ a bike without killing myself, let alone build one." She suddenly leaned over Ezekiel and wrapped her arms around his chest; he froze instantly, white face turning red. "But you'll help me though, won't you?"

"I---uh---zuh---shoor, eh?!"

Bridgette smiled; Ezekiel practically swooned. The rest of us rolled our eyes as they walked away, arms full with a collection of parts. "I don't suppose _you_ know anything about this?" Gwen asked Noah, raising an eyebrow.

He scoffed. "Sorry, honey, not my forte."

"Oh, nothing is ever your forte."

"Well, do _you_ have some sort of special talent for this sort of thing?"

"I'm sure I can figure it out if I use the manual," she muttered, holding it up in her hand.

"You all might as well not even bother with this challenge," Duncan said, laughing as he pulled parts out of the pile without any effort. "I've got this one in the bag. There's no way you losers can beat anything _I_ throw together. Heh-heh-heh---OW!"

He nearly fell forward as Leshawna's hand collided with the back of his head. Noah and I snickered. "Oh, quit your braggin', Baby Boy," Leshawna grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. She grabbed an armful of pieces randomly. "I'm gonna go work in the shade."

She stalked off; Duncan glared after her, rubbing his head. "You know, Leshawna doesn't like it when you act rude to people," I observed. "Maybe you should try being a little nicer to people."

Duncan gave me a look. "Oh, like I need advice from a dateless loser like you," I muttered.

"Hey!" But he stormed off after Leshawna before I could come up with a decent comeback. Gwen rolled her eyes. "Aw, don't worry about him, Cody. He's just in a bad mood because Leshawna's not letting him get into her shirt."

"Smart girl," Noah muttered, examining a pedal. He turned back to Gwen. "Well, honey, wanna try to put together a pair of working bikes?" His voice was even more dripping with sarcasm than usual.

"Sure, why not?" She looked around Noah to me, holding up the bike manual. "Are you gonna need to borrow this, Cody?"

"No thanks," I said, waving her away. "I think I know what I'm doing."

"Okay."

They walked off, leaving me alone at the pile. That was okay, though; I still had plenty of pieces to choose from. I sifted carefully through them, biting my tongue in concentration.

* * *

**Cody:** This shouldn't be too hard. It's like Zeke said, no big deal if you have experience. Heck, I'd been making robots since I was _nine._ Okay, a lot of them wound up either breaking down or blowing up, but those were mostly programming errors.

* * *

Now, where to work? I looked around the yard. There were Ezekiel and Bridgette, working together---well, mostly Ezekiel working; as I watched, Bridgette bent over to try to help him screw something in, and a moment later was tending the black eye he got when she accidentally elbowed him in the face. Nearby Noah was flipping through the bike manual furiously, muttering to himself while Gwen laid out the pieces for their two bikes on the ground. Past them Duncan and Leshawna seemed to be working separately, but they definitely seemed to be collaborating: Leshawna looked like she was asking him for advice, while he, from the sly look on his face, seemed to be flirting in response.

"Aw, poor little Cody doesn't have a partner," a mocking voice said from behind me, causing me to jump.

I spun around; Heather was standing there, filing her nails as she leaned against the cabin. I scowled. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's just occurred to me---since we voted DJ off, _you're _the only guy still here who doesn't have a girlfriend." She snickered, letting her eyes wander across the field at the others. "I mean, if Smart-Ass, Delinquent and Home-School can all get dates, what's it say that _you're_ still single?"

I felt my face heat up. "Well, _you_ don't seem to have a boyfriend either," I snapped, trying to stay calm.

"Oh please. I could have any of you boys in a heartbeat if I wanted," she said, holding up her hand to admire her nails. "Frankly, I just don't like the selection."

And with that, she turned and sauntered away back towards the cabins. I frowned after her. "Hey, don't you have a bike to build?!"

"No thanks; unlike you, I _have_ a partner," she shot back, not even turning around.

I frowned after her, quirking an eyebrow. Then I sighed and, hefting up my armful of equipment, headed off across the yard.

* * *

**Cody: **Stupid Heather. Where does she come off, making fun of me because I don't have a girlfriend? And like any of us guys would actually date her…granted, she _is_ hot, but that's not enough to make up for the fact that she's mean as a snake. (crosses arms, looking away) Hmph…stupid Heather.

* * *

But, of course, she was right, I thought grimly, carrying the pile of equipment in my arms…I _was_ the only guy left on the island without a girlfriend. And the only one left without someone to work on a bike with…

I walked around the side of the Arts and Crafts Center, looking at the ground---then jumped when I looked up, seeing the one other person working alone.

Lindsay.

A grin passed over my face. "Well, al_right_y, then..."

* * *

**JoeMerl:** And that's Chapter One! And let me just say, _whoo,_ this story is hard to write. Don't know how Winter-Rae and the Kobold Necromancer manage to pump out ten thousand words every couple of days...hopefully _I _can have Chapter Two edited and put up shortly, plus update some of my _Invader Zim_ stuff before _someone_ blows a gasket. ;-) Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and until next time, please leave a review!


	2. Chapter 2: Bike Building Buddies

**Crossing the Line**

**Title:** Crossing the Line

**Summary: **Thanks to Heather's treachery, Lindsay is about to be kicked off the island...unless a certain techno-geek has something to say about it.

**Disclaimer:** The characters and plot of this story are taken from blah blah blah come on we all know the drill, is this really necessary?

**Pairings:**Main: Cody/Lindsay, Side: Noah/Gwen, Ezekiel/Bridgette and Duncan/Leshawna.

**Warnings:** Crack pairings that may make some people cry. Also, mild language and dialogue inappropriate for small children, but overall, not any worse than the actual show.

**JoeMerl:** Just a clarification: this being AU, I've purposefully altered the vote-off order to suit my personal preferences. Hence why Cody and others are still on the island, while others are not. Anyway, glad to have gotten such a strong response to this story, hope you enjoy this chapter too!

* * *

**Crossing the Line**

**Chapter Two: Bike-Building Buddies**

"Hey, Lindsay," I said, saddling up beside her and dropping my bike parts suavely on the ground.

She looked up, startled. "Oh. Hey, Colby!"

I frowned. "…It's Cody."

"Oh. Sorry," she said, giving an awkward little smile. A…really, _really_ cute awkward little smile. Oh…I shook my head roughly. Snap out of it, man!

"Do you mind if I work here? With you?"

"Sure! Ohmygosh, we can be, like, Bike-Building Buddies, or something!"

"Great," I said, wringing my eyebrow slyly at her; no girl can resist a good eyebrow-wringing, after all. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to notice it; she had turned back to the pieces carefully laid out on a blanket on the ground, carefully picked from the large pile of metal and wood beside her.

When I glanced up, though, I noticed something that made my jaw drop. "Um…Lindsay?"

"Yeah-huh?"

"Where did you get that _engine?_"

"What? Um, nowhere," she said quickly, looking very carefully away.

"That came from Chef's motorcycle, didn't it?"

"Uh---oh, please don't tell!" she said, clasping her hands together and looking terrified. "Heather thought it would be a good idea to borrow it. I'm gonna put it back," she added, biting her lip.

I stared at her for a moment. Then I allowed a grin to spread back over my face. "Me? Tell? Wouldn't dream of it," I said, waving my hand. "Your secret's safe with me."

She gasped. "Oh, thank you!"

She suddenly reached over and hugged me. My arms and legs stiffened in surprise. Lindsay was hugging me! _Lindsay!_ I let out a sigh as my startled muscles relaxed, just as she released me. I sat there for a moment, so dazed a strong breeze could have probably knocked me over. I slapped myself, hard, in the face, blinking and managing to come back to reality.

"So, uh…d-do you need any help with that?" I stammered, as she arranged the pieces of the motorcycle engine along with the broken bike parts.

"Oh, no thanks. I'm actually really good with mechanicistal things."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah. My daddy taught me to help him when he's working on his Ferrari."

"Huh."

* * *

**Cody:** I have to admit, I was a little skeptical at first, but it turns out Lindsay really _did _know what she was doing. She even finished her bike before I did, and I didn't even have a motor to build! Heh. (dreamy smile) I wonder if she has any interest in robots…

* * *

"Wow. Nice work, Lindsay!" I complimented, giving her a thumbs up. I was particularly impressed that she managed to reconstruct the whole engine without getting a single drop of oil on herself.

"Thanks!" she said, cocking her head to one side. But then she frowned. "But what about yours, though? Don't you want to trick it out with any of that stuff from the Crafts Center?"

"Oh, yeah. I was just waiting until I had the frame done." I picked my bike up, smiling that it seemed to hold together fine. "I'm gonna go get some stuff now."

"Okay! Ooh, could you get me any more dolls if you find them?" She held up one mixed in with her pile of junk. "I'd like Miss Elizabeth here to have a friend."

"Er---can do."

Unfortunately, everyone else had already been in the Crafts Center, so there wasn't much left to choose from. Still, I managed to find a few sheets of metal and some paint that I thought could make my bike look pretty sweet. I was going to go for a spaceship design, I decided. I began to wonder what would be the best design to use...something aerodynamic, of course. If only I could make something as _fast_ as a spaceship, or at least as fast as Lindsay's bike was going to be...

I walked past the dismantled motorcycle and was about to leave the shack when something caught my eye.

I took a few steps back. There was a riding lawn mower in the corner behind the door, its front just peeking out.

"Well, what do we have here?" I said, grinning.

* * *

"Hey Colby!" She blinked. "Wait…where did you get _that_ engine? Did Chef's motorcycle have two or something?"

"What? No, I found this one in a lawn mower," I explained, then winked at her. "Hope you don't mind, but your idea was just so good I decided to steal it."

"No, that's fine!" she said, smiling. Then she frowned. "But it was actually Heather's idea to take the motor from Chef's bike."

"Oh. Well in that case it was a horrible idea."

She frowned more like she didn't get the joke. I cleared my throat awkwardly. "I just---don't really like Heather very much."

"Oh." She frowned, returning to her work. "Yeah. A lot of the other girls don't seem to like her that much, either. I really don't know why."

"Well, she is kind of mean to everyone," I said, frowning as I turned back to the sheet metal I was cutting for my ship's hull.

"That's not true!" Lindsay said, sounding scandalized. "I mean, Heather's always been really nice to me!"

"Huh? She calls you names all the time!"

"Well, yeah. But she's, like, my best friend on the whole island." She gave a little smile as she added a string mane to the pony head she was making. "Did you know she promised to take me and Beth with her to the final three?"

"But…she got Beth voted off, remember? The cooking challenge?"

"Well, yeah…that's true, I guess..."

A small silence fell between us for a moment. I wasn't sure quite what to say---I hated watching the way Heather treated her, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings if she really thought Heather was her friend. "Well, if I were you, Linds, I'd be careful around her. I mean, maybe she's just nicer to you than she is to everyone else…but I just don't want to see her do anything bad to you."

"Really? _Aw,_ that's _so_ sweet of you."

I blinked. "Really?"

She nodded. I smiled back at her. "Thanks."

"Oh, you're welcome. Hey..." She leaned forward, closer to me; I instinctively leaned back, our noses almost touching. "Did you know you have a hole in your teeth?"

"What?!" My hand shot up to cover my mouth. "Oh---um, yeah, I, uh---"

"Hee, it makes you look really cute!"

My eyes widened. "Really?!"

She nodded. I felt my face begin to burn. I cleared my throat again, willing my heart to beat normally again. I grinned nervously, making sure my teeth were fully visible. "So, um…what are you doing there?" I asked, pointing to what she was working on. "You already have your cool rocket-bike, why are you making another one?"

"Oh. Well---"

"Lindsay!"

We both looked up. Heather was standing about ten feet away, motioning to her.

"Oh---excuse me, Colby. I'll be right back."

Lindsay straightened up and put one hand on each of the bikes she had constructed, wheeling them over to Heather. I watched them for a moment, eyebrow quirked. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I---

Wait, what the---

Lindsay took the first bike she had made---the one with Chef's engine hidden in the back basket---and handed it to Heather. Heather took it, grinning her evil grin.

My mouth fell open as Heather turned and began to walk away with the bike, motioning for Lindsay to follow. Lindsay hesitated and---I was startled to see---motioned back toward me. I could just hear something about "wanted to go back and talk with Colby some more." Heather turned, glared at me, then snapped something to Lindsay. Lindsay looked back and me again, gave a frowning little shrug, then followed with her remaining bike.

I gaped after the two of them. "Oh my gosh," I muttered, shaking my head. "Did---did Heather just have _Lindsay_ make her bike for her? And Lindsay gave her the motorcycle?!" I shook my head. "That sneaky little---"

Just then I jumped as the screeching sound of the loudspeaker blared. "Campers, you have five minutes remaining to finish your bikes," Chris called.

"Agh!" I stared back at my bike. My new motor was all put together, but I still had to finish the decorations. I quickly grabbed up the shears and went back to cutting my sheet metal, my mind on Heather's little scheme.

Stupid Heather. Why did Lindsay have to trust that girl?

The answer, of course, came to me quickly: she was way too nice not to.

* * *

"I mean, can you _believe _that, Noah?! Heather is totally cheating! And she got Lindsay to give her the better bike too!"

"Wow. I have to say, ther evil witch at least knows what she's doing."

"You're not helping."

"Wasn't really trying to." I gave him a look. He sighed. "Alright, _fine._ If you know Heather is cheating, why not just tell Chris? Maybe he'll disqualify her."

"I can't do that," I grumbled, looking away. "If I did, then Lindsay might get in trouble too. Which would be _totally_ unfair, but just the kind of thing Chris would do."

"Well, then I guess there's nothing we can do but let Queen Heather get another invincibility this week." He sighed. "Damn it. You know, _I_ was supposed to the schemer on this show. I signed up specifically with that in mind." Then he smirked. "But other than _that,_ how did you and Lindsay's little 'date' go?"

"It wasn't a date," I snapped. "I _wish_ it was a date, but all we did was talk."

"Huh. What about?" he said, not sounding very interested. His eyes were already wandering to the other bikes, as a few of the remaining campers rolled up with their contraptions beside them.

I shrugged. "Nothing much." Then I grinned and puffed out my chest. "She said she likes bucked teeth, though."

Noah burst out laughing. "What?!" I demanded.

"Oh...oh man, you are _so_ pathetic," Noah said. He shook his head and wiped a tear from his eye. "I mean---really, Cody...what are you hoping for, a bucked-teeth beaver fetish?"

"Shut up! It's not like _you're_ such a lady's man!"

He gave me a look. "I'm going to use a comeback I've wanted to use for years on somebody, but have never had a chance to do before now." He pointed at his chest. "_I_ have a girlfriend" he pointed at me "and _you_ don't." He cocked his head. "Oh my...that's just as fun as my older brothers always made it seem..."

My comeback---which would have been really, really cool, I assure you---was interrupted when Chris finally arrived.

"Well, campers, we gave you the parts; let's see what you came up with!"

The first bike Chris examined was "Heather's," and I could feel myself grimace as she presented it as her own. Next came Gwen's bike, to which she had added large waving bat wings; Duncan's, with a skull hood ornament, and then Lindsay's second bike with the horse's head on the front.

"The real bike has sound effects like this: _nyehoo! Nyehoo!_" Lindsay said, trying to imitate a horse's neigh. Next to me, Noah and Gwen face-palmed; I hid an amused smirk behind my hand.

Noah's bike was rather simply designed ("Why bother slowing it down with a bunch of useless junk added on?") while Ezekiel had done the opposite, throwing on a ton of extra attachments randomly ("I was trying to pimp it oot, eh?" he explained brightly, while Bridgette giggled and blushed beside him).

* * *

**Bridgette:** (giggling) Okay…I really need to stop teaching him new words. Or at least explain what they mean better.

* * *

Bridgette's own bike was more modest and made almost entirely of wood ("biodegradable," she explained), while Leshawna's was almost entirely metal, and built almost as large as Chef's motorcycle, probably to help hold her extra weight.

"Wow, Leshawna, you did a really great job here," Chris said, nodding with approval.

"Er, thanks," she said, looking carefully away. Beside her, Duncan smirked.

* * *

**Duncan: **(leaning back, smirking with his hands behind his head) Heh, she owes me _big _time for helping her with that one. Heh-heh, I think I might just be getting to second base pretty soon.

* * *

**Leshawna: **Okay, I _said_ I owed him, but if tries to get up in my shirt _one _more time…and he _better _not be behind me missing my favorite bra!

* * *

**Cody:** (holding up a large bra, frowning) …Well, I found it on Lindsay's bed, and it _looks_ about the right size, but somehow I think I grabbed the wrong one...

* * *

"And Cody, my man! Nice. What's this supposed to be, exactly?"

"I call it the _Delta Rider. _It's based on the _Delta Flyer_ from _Voyager,_" I said proudly, admiring my design.

Noah scoffed. I glared at him.

* * *

**Bridgette: **(pinching the bridge of her nose) Oh man, I hope those two aren't about to get into another _Star Trek_ argument…

* * *

"All I'm saying is, Picard managed to get them home from another _galaxy_ in _one episode, _while it took Janeway _seven years_ to get across a few measly quadrants!"

"Oh, big accomplishment for Picard! All he had to do was get the Traveler's help!" I screamed, throwing up my hands. "Janeway had to go _hundreds _of light-years, through _Borg-infested_ space, and---"

"Okay, people, people! Enough of the nerd-fighting," Chris said, getting between us and holding up his hands. "because now, it's time for the _fun_ part of the competition!"

"Did anybody else just feel their blood run cold?" Gwen asked, raising her hand and looking around. Noah quit glaring at me to send her a smirk.

"We're gonna race these babies! _Hard!_" Chris said gleefully, making a fist.

"Huh, awesome. Because _my_ bike is built for speed. Right, Lindsay?" Heather asked, crossing her arms and giving her a look.

"Totally!" Lindsay agreed. I shot Heather another death-glare. She noticed it and sent another evil little smile back.

"Yeah, unfortunately, _you_ won't be riding it, Heather," Chris said. I grinned as the smile instantly vanished from her face. "You'll be _switching _bikes. Yeah, cruel twist, huh?" he added, looking around at all of our horrified faces. "Alrighty, then! See you at the beach!"

Chris walked away. Heather glared after him. I grinned.

* * *

**Cody:** Okay, yeah, I'll admit, I kind of wish we got to ride our own bikes during the race. (grins) But I gotta say, that look on Heather's face…_priceless._

* * *

**JoeMerl: **Okay! That's chapter two...hmm, Noah's becoming more prominent than he was originally going to be, but then, I got lots of compliments for him so I guess that's alright. Well, I hope you all liked this; please leave a review! And also, I put up a little Cody/Gwen drabble if anyone's interested. (Yeah, I just like Cody.)


	3. Chapter 3: Pile Up

**Crossing the Line**

**Title:** Crossing the Line

**Summary:** Thanks to Heather's treachery, Lindsay is about to be kicked off the island...unless a certain techno-geek has something to say about it.

**Disclaimer:** The characters and plot of this story are taken from blah blah blah come on we all know the drill, is this really necessary?

**Pairings: **Main: Cody/Lindsay, Side: Noah/Gwen, Ezekiel/Bridgette and Duncan/Leshawna.

**Warnings:** Crack pairings that may make some people cry. Also, mild language and dialogue inappropriate for small children, but overall, not any worse than the actual show.

**JoeMerl: **Okay, this story's getting a good reception (though not quite as good as that Gwen/Cody drabble---most popular one-shot I ever wrote, thanks everyone!) Hope you enjoy Chapter Three!

* * *

**Crossing the Line **

**Chapter Three: Pile-Up**

"Okay, here's how it works. Everyone picks a name out of the helmet to see whose bike you're riding. If your bike makes it across the finish line, then _you _get to ride it in the final round for invincibility."

About ten minutes later we had all switched our bikes and were assembled on the starting line. I was sitting on Zeke's, which was an okay choice: not as good as my bike or "Heather's," but I felt better about it than some of the others.

"Okay, this is like a cruel joke or something, right?" Noah said, looking around at the huge metal contraption he was sitting in.

Leshawna shot him a look. "Hey, scrawny, maybe you should shut up and just worry about not crashing my bike, a'ight?"

Noah glared at her, and Leshawna looked away. I think even she had to admit, the bike she had built for her own use was just way too big for Noah. The seat had been made leaning back to accommodate her…uh, _larger_ physique, but Noah had to sit up much straighter just to see over the handlebars, his legs stretched out as far as possible to reach both pedals. In any event, she quickly turned back to Duncan, who was giving quick little bits of advice for how she should drive his bike, while making faces down at the horse head attached to the one he was riding.

"Try not to crash my bike, ookay?" Ezekiel said from beside me, craning his neck up, since Gwen had built her bike kind of low to the ground.

"I'll try." I cast a nervous look a few bikes away. "Though no offense, man, but I'm kind of more nervous about _mine._"

Ezekiel looked over and nodded; Bridgette was gazing down at my bike and looking very nervous. I bit my lip. The bike itself (which you could barely see) seemed too small for her, while its "hull" made it kind of bulky. I had considered telling her the secret about the motor---after all, her winning the race would be good for me---but ultimately decided against it; Bridgette was really cool, don't get me wrong, but I strongly doubted my bike would survive this race if she was driving it normally, never _mind_ if she tried to use the engine.

"Okay, racers!" Chris called. "On your marks."

I leaned down over Ezekiel's bike, putting my feet on the pedals.

"Get set…"

I surveyed the other racers, and my eyes fell toward the end of the line, where Lindsay was sitting on Heather's bike, next to Heather on Bridgette's. She caught my eye, and smiled at me, giving a little wave. I suddenly felt my sweaty hands slip on the handlebars---my head seemed to be spinning…

"Paramedics on standby…AND…DRAG!"

The others shot out at lightning speed; I blinked, shaking my head. "Huh?!"

I quickly realized I was the only one left at the starting line. I let out a strangled cry and began to pedal. The bike rode along shakily for a moment, and I silently cursed myself for letting myself get distracted.

* * *

**Noah:** (snickers) I saw that, Cody.

* * *

**Cody: **Yeah, okay, so maybe the race didn't start out too well for me. But I was sure I could make up for it and come out with a win.

* * *

**Lindsay:** (looking confused) Huh? How should _I_ know what made Colby start late?

* * *

**Izzy:** Oh yeah, I _definitely_ think they'll hook up by the end of the contest, I've known it all along. Well, at first it kind of seemed like he had a crush on Gwen, but _I _knew the whole time it would be Lindsay, ever since that time during the third competition when---

(Banging on the Confession Cam door)

**Chris (off-screen):** Izzy?! What the heck are you doing in there?! They already voted you off!

**Izzy:** Whoops! (to camera) Gotta go! (waves arm and disappears in a puff of smoke)

* * *

"Oh man oh man oh man…"

I pedaled as fast as I could. I was in dead last place. I had to hurry!

Pumping my legs with all of my strength, I managed to speed up---I flew down the track as fast as I could, sailing past Bridgette, who seemed to be driving as slow as possible to avoid crashing. (I felt like shouting a "thanks" to her for that, but was too busy concentrating on the road.) Next I saw Ezekiel, who seemed to be having a hard time trying to steer Gwen's odd contraption; leaning to the side to avoid the wings, I managed to fly by him, then Leshawna.

My face broke out in a grin. "Hey! I'm doing it!" I said. I could hear the surprise in my own voice. Grinning, I leaned down and pedaled even faster, flying past the next bike ahead of me.

"HEY!" Heather yelled angrily, as I nearly ran Bridgette's bike off of the road. My grin widened, but my leg muscles started to strain---this was hard work.

Noah, the next rider up, seemed to be having an even harder time than me---how he managed to get this far ahead of everybody else I had no idea. He was panting in his seat, unable to get Leshawna's bike to ride in a straight line, which, added with its bulk, was going to make it hard to pass.

I wheeled up as close to him as I dared. "Hey, Noah, been drinking?" I called with a smirk.

"Oh, ha, ha," he muttered, trying his best to turn the handlebars to keep the bike going in a straight line. "Just get out of my way!"

"Fat chance! I'm gonna win this thing!"

"You realize there's no actual benefit to winning, right?!" Noah screamed. "There's no special prize for crossing first! You don't even have to cross at all, if you do it'll just benefit Zeke and not you!"

"Huh?" Then, "Whoa!"

Noah lost control of Leshawna's bike; it skid around and slammed into the front of the one I was riding, and suddenly I felt myself flailing as I flew through the air. I slammed down onto Noah and two bikes' worth of broken parts.

"_Ugh! _…I hate you, Cody," Noah moaned.

I looked up, eyes growing wide. "Well, you're about to hate Heather too," I said, feeling the blood drain from my face.

"I already hate Heath---_agh!_"

"_Agh!_"

Heather let out a cry as her bike smashed into the remains of the previous two. I closed my eyes tightly before feeling Heather slam down on top of me and Noah.

"_Agh! _Two people now?! I have bones, damn it!"

"_Ugh!_ Get off of me, you little perverts!"

"_You're_ on top of _us!_" I cried, trying to squirm out from under her. (This was, I had to say, the least fun I'd ever had with a girl on top of me.) I was just about free when I heard two more screams, two more crashes, and two more bodies land onto our pile.

"_Oof! _Agh! My ribs," I moaned, feeling my head spin again.

"Oh---get _off _me, Prairie Boy!" Leshawna muttered, squirming on top of me. I heard Heather let out a muffled scream from beneath a rather large amount of fleshy cushioning.

"I cain't, I---_agh!_" Ezekiel screamed.

"_Agh!_" Leshawna screamed.

"_Agh!"_ Noah and I screamed together.

"_AGH!_" Bridgette screamed, as she came barreling down the track on my bike.

Ezekiel's arm shot up. I think he was just trying to keep himself from getting hit; but, as he was lying under the majority of Gwen's crashed bike, and as he lifted his arm he raised the majority of it up at an angle. Bridgette, screaming with her eyes closed, came careening out-of-control toward him---

---and just happened to hit the bottom of Gwen's bike's wing, causing her to fly up it like a ramp and go soaring through the air.

Ezekiel's eyes went wide. "BRIDGETTE!"

The bike flew right over our massive bike pile-up---the spaceship wings I had added seemed to actually help it glide through the air, I thought with amazement and a bit of pride---Bridgette screaming as it soared, slammed into the ground, careened out of control---

---And flew right past the finish line, where Chris and the winners, wide-eyed, scattered in terror.

_CRASH!_

I winced as Bridgette and my _Delta Rider_ collided with several of the winning bikes. Ezekiel let out a strangled sound and managed to pull himself free---our pile of people collapsed, and I managed to climb shakily to my feet as he ran over to Bridgette, shaking his leg to disentangle a pair of handlebars still wrapped around his ankle.

"Bridgette!"

Gwen and Duncan had already managed to pull her to her feet---as I ran over with the others, she managed to stand up, though she looked kind of shaky. Ezekiel grabbed her shoulders, steadying her. "Are yoo ookay, honey?"

"Oh…Zeke, that was _incredible!_" she said, snapping out of her daze and grabbing his shoulders. "Lifting that wing up to keep me from hitting you guys---where did you come up with that?!"

"What? Noo, that was just a' acci---"

He stopped talking when Bridgette pulled his face onto hers; when she pulled back a second later, he stood frozen, mouth moving but without any actual words coming out.

"Duh---nuh---eh---"

"Well, that was certainly an interesting race!" Chris chuckled, coming out from behind the tree where he had been hiding. He clapped his hands. "So! We have five awesome wipe-outs by Cody, Ezekiel, Heather, Noah _and _Leshawna, and four invincibility race winners: Noah's sturdy little ride, Heather's speed machine, Lindsay's Sunset Sally and Cody's Trekkie trailblazer!"

"Huh?" I looked up, startled; between the concussion and Bridgette's dramatic crash, it hadn't occurred to me that Bridgette's survival had actually been my own. "Oh, sweet! My bike gets to be in the final race!"

"That's right! Assuming that last crash didn't break any of the winners, you four will all get to be in the final competition!"

"_Great,_" Noah said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Gwen elbowed him in the side.

"Hey, you should be grateful. I poured blood, sweat and tears into my bike just to watch it get smashed."

She shot a look at Ezekiel; however, Bridgette had her arms wrapped around his head and was kissing his toque, so I don't think he noticed.

* * *

**Ezekiel: **(with deliriously happy look on his face) Hee-hee…

* * *

"Oh, isn't this great!" Lindsay said, clasping her hands together and standing on one foot as she leaned close to me and Heather. "We all get to be in the finals! Isn't that---" Suddenly her face fell, and she looked up in horror. "Oh, Colby! You're bleeding!"

"Huh? I am?" I said. My hand shot up to where she was looking, and sure enough I felt a warm, sticky substance running down from my forehead down the side of my face.

"Here, let me get it…"

She pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket, licked it and took my head with her other hand. My muscles seized up as she began to clean up my cut. "There ya go…I---oh!"

Heather grabbed Lindsay by the arm, dragging her away with a snarl on her face. Lindsay looked surprised, then waved at me with the bloody handkerchief in her hand. "Um---okay, see you later, Colby!"

* * *

**Lindsay: **(wringing the handkerchief in her hand) I don't know why Heather got so upset. I was just trying to help Colby with his cut… (looks down at the handkerchief, frowning thoughtfully) Huh, you know, normally I'm afraid of blood…

* * *

_Meanwhile, at Playa des Losers..._

"Hey, back off, man! She's _my_ girl!"

"No way, man!" Trent said, poking Geoff angrily in the chest. "She likes _me_ _WAY_ more!"

"Oh, _boys. Really, _you shouldn't be fighting about me like this," Courtney giggled, cheeks going slightly pink as Trent and Geoff glared at each other.

Just then Harold's head popped up from the back of the nearby couch, panting heavily. "Can you guys _please_ try to keep it down over there?! Some of us are trying to enjoy ourselves! _GAWSH!_"

Eva's head appeared beside him. "Ugh. Forget about them and _get back here!_" she snarled, grabbing the back of his head and pulling him back down. The sounds of their lips smacking resumed a moment later.

DJ, sitting beside them, rolled his eyes and turned to Katie and Sadie. "Can you believe those two?" he said, motioning to them with his thumb.

"Hee-hee...I think they're kind of cute!" Sadie said, giggling, though she was actually watching the way Katie was inching her way closer to DJ, casually laying her head to lie on his shoulder.

Owen was sitting nearby on an armchair, his eyes drifting from the large screen TV (currently showing Bridgette kissing Ezekiel on the head) to the various couples all around the room. He sighed, turning to Tyler, who was sitting on the armrest. "Man, I wish I had a girlfriend."

"Yeah, me too, man."

Just then there was a sudden blast of smoke, and a moment later the two let out strangled cries as something heavily landed across both of their laps.

"_Agh! _Whoo, gotta work on those landings," Izzy giggled, then looked up to notice the two of them staring at her. She winked. "Hey, boys."

"Oh, uh...hey," Owen said, blushing slightly.

* * *

**JoeMerl:** Yeah...I just couldn't figure out whether to do a bit of Izzy/Tyler or Izzy/Owen, so I settled for both. (shrug) Oh, and I stole the idea of Izzy "landing" on someone from one of Nikki-kun05's stories, just for the record. Anyway, hope that pointless little part at the end makes up for the overall lack of humor or much romance in the rest of this chapter. I'll try to get Chapter Four out quickly, though it's not completely written yet and it's gonna be a long one. (And I'm still debating whether or not to post the Epilogue separately...) Anyway, until then, please leave a review! :-D


	4. Chapter 4: Lady's Man

**Crossing the Line**

**Title:** Crossing the Line

**Summary:** Thanks to Heather's treachery, Lindsay is about to be kicked off the island...unless a certain techno-geek has something to say about it.

**Disclaimer:** The characters and plot of this story are taken from blah blah blah come on we all know the drill, is this really necessary?

**Pairings: **Main: Cody/Lindsay, Side: Noah/Gwen, Ezekiel/Bridgette and Duncan/Leshawna.

**Warnings:** Crack pairings that may make some people cry. Also, mild language and dialogue inappropriate for small children, but overall, not any worse than the actual show.

**JoeMerl: **Okay, final chapter! Sorry it took so long---I was going to do it yesterday but the site wasn't working right---hopefully the incredible length (longest chapter I've ever written) will make up for the wait. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Crossing the Line**

**Chapter Four: Lady's Man**

"Okay, seriously, someone else can do this round for me. I don't mind. Gwen honey! You did so well last round, you want to take my bike for another little spin?"

"Uh-uh, dude, sorry, no substitutions," Chris said, shaking his finger and grinning.

Noah scowled. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"_May-_be," he said, smiling even wider.

Noah's expression worsened. Gwen, sitting up with the others whose bikes had been smashed, giggled. Noah shot a look at her, but I was amused to see how expression softened slightly at the sight of her.

I looked back over the remaining contestants---Noah to my left, and to my right, Lindsay and Heather---as Chris, who had gotten into his land buggy and driven around for the cameras, began to explain the challenge.

"Welcome to the MOTOR---Motor---CROSS---Cross---Cross---CHALLENGE!" Noah and I exchanged a look while Heather rolled her eyes. "Using your _own_ bikes, you'll race the course, avoiding…"

As Chris went on, I cleared my throat and leaned to the side. "Hey, Lindsay---good luck on the race," I whispered.

She blinked up at me. With those shining, baby blue eyes… "_Aw, _thanks, Colby! Good luck to you too."

She smiled; my breath caught in my throat, and I thought I was going to faint. I was suddenly dragged back into reality by Chris' announcement.

"Oh, and one more thing. First one to cross wins _invincibility._ Last one to cross gets voted off the island. No bonfire, do not pass Go, do not collect a marshmallow."

"What?!" I cried, eyes going wide.

"What?!" Gwen and Bridgette both cried.

"Huh? That doesn't even make sense!" Noah exclaimed. "If whoever's last gets kicked off automatically, in what sense does the first-place winner get invincibility? _Anyone_ other than the last person gets invincibility! Hell, by having their bikes crash in the last round, all the incompetent boobs have already won!"

"_Hey!_"

Noah's eyes widened, face growing pale. "Um…not that I'm not happy for you, honey."

"Well, the person who wins invincibility can still pass it onto somebody else," Chris said with a shrug. "If they do that, _then_ we go to a Marshmallow Ceremony."

"Huh? Since when is _that_a rule?" Leshawna asked, raising an eyebrow.

Chris blinked. "What, you guys didn't know you could that?"

"_No!_" eight of us shouted.

Heather raised an eyebrow. "Huh. _I _knew that. I'm not sure _how,_ though..."

"Well, whatever," Chris said, shaking his head. "Point is, don't rely too much on anybody else for this competition. If I were you guys, I'd make sure I was one of the first to cross that finish line."

He walked off for a minute to exchange some words with Chef. I noticed Heather lean in to Lindsay out of the corner of my eye. "Okay, so here's our strategy. _We_ have to stick together so one of us wins the race. So _you_ go first, and clear a path through the mines."

"Uh-huh," Lindsay said, giving her a nervous look.

My jaw dropped. "_What?_"

"_Then,_ go through the oil slick so I can see how to get through it."

"Oookay," Lindsay said.

"_What?!_"

"If you make it through those two parts, then the third part is easy," Heather added, looking confidently away. "Just keep the piranhas busy while I speed through."

"_WHAT?!_" I screamed, watching as a piranha jumped out of the pool of water on the track and snapped at the air. I felt my jaw drop as I gaped at the two of them, but both girls seemed to be ignoring me.

"Wait---then _you'll_ win, not _me!_" Lindsay said, looking confused.

"Exactly."

Lindsay gave Heather a nervous smile. "I was thinking it would be _really_ fun if I won a challenge for _myself_ for once."

"_Yeah._ That's a great idea _in theory,_ but then who would come up with all the new strategies to get us through to the next week?"

"…Rrrrrright."

"No!" I screamed, standing up on the pedals of my bike. "_Not right!_ _Wrong! LEFT!_"

Heather shot me a look. "Don't worry," she said to Lindsay, who seemed too dazed to notice my comments, "if the piranhas don't eat you, you'll _definitely_ be second, which means Cody or Noah gets voted off, and we get through another bonfire ceremony."

"_IF _the piranhas don't eat her?!"

Lindsay looked up as if just noticing I was there. The smile on her face fell. "Huh?"

"Lindsay, listen to what she's saying!" I cried, motioning to Heather; I have to admit, I was being kind of loud. Noah even forgot his griping to stare at me, and the others up on the cliff were straining to hear. "She's telling you to purposefully lose just so she'll win! How can you let her talk to you like that?!"

Lindsay stared at me. "But---"

"How does Heather know you'll come in second?! I mean, what if me or Noah gets ahead of you? Or what if you fall into one of the booby traps and don't finish?!"

"Shut _up,_ 'Cooty,'" Heather snarled. Despite all her faults, Heather usually manages to at least look good; now, though, the angry look on her face was making her look seriously bad, especially compared to the angelically confused expression Lindsay had beside her.

"Heather's just trying to use you, can't you see that?! She doesn't care if you win or lose! You should race for yourself and let her find her own way across the finish line!"

Lindsay turned from me to Heather, then back to me, biting her lip.

"Racers, take your position!"

I spun around at the sound of Chris' voice. I shot a quick look at Lindsay as I sat back on my bike, feeling my heart pound. She was still looking between me and Heather. I bit my lip too.

"Aaaaand---GO!"

I bent over my bike and took off. Noah, with a groan, followed. I spun around in my seat to look---Heather was leaning back, deliberately stalling, looking at Lindsay. Lindsay hesitated for just one more second, then took off after Noah with Heather behind her.

I grimaced and turned around, leaning over my handlebars. I pedaled as hard as I could, Heather's ugly snarl in the back of my head.

* * *

**Cody:** The race actually started really well for me---honestly, I think being so mad at Heather actually helped me to go faster or something. Besides, I figured that, if Lindsay _did_ come in last place, but I won, I could just give her my invincibility and she'd be safe. Then we could all finally vote Heather off.

(smiles at the thought, then frowns) Too bad it didn't work out that way.

* * *

The first part of the track was a hill. Pumping my legs with all my strength, I managed to shoot up and then fly down the other side without any problem.

Once I was _off_ the hill, though, I heard a loud _BOOM! _and a shrill scream from behind me.

"What the---"

I looked back---then up, as Noah flew through the air and crashed down onto the path in front of me. I screamed and twirled the handlebars around---I narrowly avoided hitting him, and momentarily lost control of my bike, nearly going off the road.

_BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!_

"_Agh-agh-agh-agh-agh!_"

* * *

**Noah:** Okay, it's bad enough when the road is that bumpy, did they really have to make it _exploding?!_

* * *

Somehow (don't ask me how!) I managed to avoid getting blown up. I was just flying out of the mine field when suddenly---

"_WHOO!_"

I looked up, startled; Lindsay's bike soared over my head, crashing down right in front of me. I let out a strangled cry and swerved to avoid hitting her.

She turned around and managed a little wave. "HEY COLBY!"

Thankfully, I was too terrified to swoon. The oil slick was coming up.

"_WHOO!_" Lindsay cried again, grinning wildly as she leaned back and flew through the oil on one wheel; tearing my eyes away from her (man, she looked wild riding like that), I noticed that the fake horse's tail she had attached to her bike was creating a clean trail in the oil. Taking in a sharp gasp I headed for it.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa!"

I was suddenly wishing I hadn't made my whole spaceship design quite so bulky, but I managed to steer my bike through the thin path Lindsay had made, though I did almost slip a few times.

"WHOO! Go Cody!"

"You can do it, Short-Stuff!"

"Lick Heather's butt, eh!"

"He means 'kick!'"

I turned, grinning at the sounds of the others' cheers, then bent down and pedaled faster…just as I felt _her_ riding up behind me.

"Oh no you don't, 'Cooty!'"

I turned around---just as Heather went rocketing past me, the motor hidden in her bike sending her forward at monster speed.

"_Eat my dust, loser!_" she cried, smiling her evil smile and shaking her fist at me.

For a moment I was stunned---before I grinned, remembering my own secret weapon.

"Oh, yeah? Well, eat _mine!_"

I reached around my back one-handed and grabbed a string attached to my seat---I yanked it with all my strength, then let out a cry as the bike flew forward, almost as fast as Heather's. (I had tinkered with the motor a bit before putting it on. Heh-heh.)

* * *

**Duncan: **Agh! _He_ took the lawn mower's engine?! Damn it, _I_ was gonna use that!

* * *

I have to admit, I _loved_ the look on Heather's face as I suddenly appeared beside her. The shock quickly turned into a snarl. "Oh no you _don't!_"

She suddenly swerved her rocket bike to the right, hitting me. I let out a cry, nearly running off the road. "Hey!"

I shoved her back. She shoved me. I let out a cry---her shove shifted the metal hull of my ship, and suddenly the balance was all wrong---

"See ya, 'Cooty!'"

She slammed down on her handlebars, and her bike went off with another burst of speed. I let out a cry, swerving---I couldn't ride straight, I was losing control---

"CODY!"

"CODY!"

"COODY!"

"_Aaaggghhh!_"

"_Ugh!_"

I suddenly found my mouth filled with what seemed like an abundance of sand. I moaned, forcing myself onto my hands and knees, spitting as Noah came running towards me.

"You okay?" he asked, bending down over me with a rare expression of actual concern.

I spit one last time. "Yeah. Fine," I said, taking his hand and climbing shakily to my feet, one hand on my head.

I had, apparently, run off the road and crashed onto the beach; specifically, my bike was wedged between two big rocks sticking out right next to the water. (Well, most of it was, anyway.) "Oh man," I muttered, looking down at my twisted bike and broken ship's hull.

"Yeah. Thing looks pretty broken," Noah muttered, going back to his usual sarcastic drawl.

I picked up the largest broken piece, frowning at it. I sighed. "This is just like when the real _Flyer_ was broken in Episode 247. Except I won't inexplicably have a new one tomorrow."

"Well, Cody, I think we have bigger problems to worry about."

"What?"

"And we have our winner! _Heather!_" Chris shouted, as she triumphantly dismounted her bike.

"Oh," I said, instantly feeling ten times more depressed.

"Yeah," Noah said, suddenly giving me a nervous look. "We lost. Wonder which one of us will be packing our bags…"

My eyes widened; but I barely had time to think about that, as I watched Lindsay wheel her bike over from the piranha pool and across the finish line to where Heather was standing victoriously.

"Well, at least she's happy," I sighed, watching Lindsay grab an annoyed-looking Heather. Noah muttered something about "Twenty-three."

"Yay! You won! We did it! We're safe!"

"That's not exactly true," Chris said, still seated in his land buggy.

"Huh?!" Noah said, eyes widening. My eyes, though, were still on Lindsay, who looked confused, and Heather, who had a sudden weird look of triumph.

"Heather _is_ safe because her bike crossed the line first, but since Noah and Cody wiped out and didn't complete the race" he looked over at us, smirking, "they _technically_ didn't cross the line _at all,_ which makes _you_ the last one to cross the line. Which means…it's _Dock of Shame _time, baby!"

Bridgette, running along the cliff towards the finish line, stopped so suddenly Ezekiel ran into her. "What?"

"What?!" Gwen said, stopping just as suddenly (only to have Duncan run into her and Leshawna into him).

"_WHAT?!_" I screamed, mouth dropping open.

* * *

**Noah:** (sighs, shaking his head) Poor Lindsay. Poor stupid, stupid, stupid-stupid-stupid, stupid, stupid, _stupid _Lindsay.

(...Man is she stupid.)

* * *

"Okay, I'm _so_ confused."

"It means I can't _save_ you unless I give you my invincibility," Heather explained. "But I can't do that. Too risky. You understand."

She turned to go; Lindsay grabbed her arm.

"But I won," she said; she sounded confused, and I could hear the smallest little quiver in her voice. "I even built your bike."

Heather pulled her arm away, laughing nervously. "I don't know what she's talking about."

"That's a lie!" somebody suddenly screamed; it wasn't until I felt my foot take an angry step forward that I realized it was me. I pointed at Heather accusingly. "I saw Lindsay make your bike for you! You even had her disassemble Chef's motorcycle for your engine!"

"_She do WHAT to Charlene?!_" Chef screamed, head snapping around to glare at the two girls.

"Ahem," Chris fake-coughed, "if I may interject here, the exact details of how Heather _acquired_ the bike really aren't at issue. Point is, it crossed the line first, so she wins invincibility. Lindsay's bike crossed the line last…euh." He held his hands up, shrugging like he was helpless, but he was still grinning. "Sorry."

"But that's not fair!" I yelled.

"Seriously. This makes even less sense than if it _was_ me or Cody that got kicked off. …Not that I'm complaining," Noah muttered.

"Yeah!" Gwen said. "You can't do this!"

"Seriously, Chris, this is some messed up junk you tryin' to pull."

"Sorry, but rules are rules," Chris said, crossing his arms stubbornly.

I stood there, shaking with rage. I couldn't remember _ever _feeling so mad before. I mean, I _never_ get mad, or at least, not this mad. But it was just so unfair, I couldn't stand it---looking over at Lindsay, with a confused, hurt look on her face…

I turned away, biting my lip---and suddenly saw a cord hanging out from the wreckage of my spaceship-bike.

I hesitated for a second, then bent down---everybody was so busy watching Heather and Lindsay, not even Noah noticed as I went behind my bike, pushing it, trying to wedge it out from the rocks---it was stuck, but if I turned it just right, I could at least get it pointing in the right direction…

I pulled the cord. _Vr-rr-rr,_ it sputtered, before dying.

I pulled again. _Vrr-rrr…_

"But---" I took a quick glance up as Lindsay looked at Heather desperately; Heather stared back with her face like a rock. "We were going to the Final Three together!"

"Guess we're not."

"Are you even sad? We're BFFs!"

"Yeah, for the _contest,_" she said, turning around and crossing her arms. "I mean, it's not like we're gonna be best friends for _life_ or anything."

_Vrrr-RRR! _The noise was barely audible over Lindsay's loud gasp.

"I can't believe you just said that! But we…pinky-swore."

"Oh NO white girl ain't tryin' to back out of no pinky-swear!"

"Yeah, that's pretty low, even for you," Bridgette said; I didn't look up from my work, but her voice sounded angrier than I'd ever heard her before.

"What's a pinky-swear?" Ezekiel asked, baffled as ever.

_VR-RRRM! VR-RRRRRM!_

"What are you doing?" Noah asked, eyebrow raised. I ignored him, pulling the cord again. _VR-RRRM!_

"Do you mean---I've been helping you all this time and you didn't even like me?!"

"Uh, truth?" Heather's voice dripped with condescension. "Not really, no."

_VROOM! _"Come on, you stupid thing---"

"Oh my---Cody, you're not doing what I think you're doing, are you?"

_VROOM!_

"You really are mean!" I heard Lindsay cry; the pain in her voice felt like a knife twisting in my stomach, but I ignored it, pulling the cord again with another noisy sputter.

"And all that bad stuff people say about you is _true!_" The engine let out another roar; Chris and a few of the other campers looked away from Heather and Lindsay to find the source of the noise.

"Like how you're a two-faced, backstabbing, lying little---"

_VROOOOOOOM!_

"_Agh!_"

I grabbed the handlebar as the engine roared back to life---the bike went flying free from the rocks and dragged me behind it, flying through the air like one of those streamers little girls have attached to their handlebars.

"What the---"

"Huh?!"

"_Aaaaaggggghhhhh!_"

_CRASH!_

The Delta Rider flew (with me attached) past the finish line and slammed right into Heather and her bike, sending them flying. Heather went screaming, Lindsay let out a cry and jumped back---I could hear the others either screaming in fear for me or cheering for what was happening to Heather---

_CRASH!_

For the---what, third?---time that day, the bike I was "riding" crashed---this time into the cliff wall. Heather was thrown away onto the sand---I landed on top of the bike, which broke to pieces under my weight.

For a moment nobody spoke; I just lay there panting. Heather was the first to break the silence.

"What---the (BLEEP!)---was that?!" she screamed, jumping to her feet and balling her hands into fists.

"Well. That was unexpected," Chris muttered, just as Noah and Lindsay rushed over and pulled me to my feet. He drove over to us, scratching his head. "Well, I guess this changes things. Lindsay, you get to stay here after all."

"I do?!" She was so surprised she let go of my arm; I staggered and collapsed onto Noah, who almost fell himself under my weight.

"Yup. Because now it seems that _Cody_ was the last one to cross the line." Chris gave me a sly wink. "Which means I guess he'll be the one going home tonight."

"But Lindsay gets to stay?" I asked quickly.

He held up his hands. "Only one person kicked off at a time, dude. Don't know how we'd do it with two at once…"

I smiled, even as Noah slapped his head. "_Ugh_---no!"

Gwen, Bridgette, Ezekiel, Duncan and Leshawna also began to voice their objections, but to my surprise, Lindsay was the loudest of all.

"No!" I suddenly found her arms thrown around me; my muscles seized up as I felt my face begin to burn. "You can't kick Colby off! He's, like---one of the nicest guys ever!"

"Sorry, Lindsay. Them's the brakes."

"But it's not fair!" she cried, pulling my head closer to her chest (I began to pray fervently I wouldn't get a nosebleed). "It's not Colby's fault his bike did that!"

"And yet he doesn't seem too depressed about it," Duncan muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Huh?" Lindsay released me, looking confused. I had to admit I was still smiling (and, uh…not just because of the hug, heh-heh). "Colby? Aren't you upset?"

"What?" My smile vanished as I realized how odd this must look. "Well---uh---"

"Oh, you empty-headed little bimbo!" Noah suddenly snapped, spinning around to face her. "Don't you get it?! Cody set his bike off again on purpose! He wanted it to cross the finish line so that he would get voted off instead of you!"

"Huh---Colby? Did you really do that?"

"Well---um---" I tapped my fingers together nervously, feeling my face burn again. "…Yeah. Yeah I did." I straightened up, forcing a smile.

"But---why?"

"_BECAUSE HE LIKES YOU, YOU DOLT!_" Gwen, Leshawna, Bridgette, Duncan, Noah and Ezekiel all screamed together (with Ezekiel throwing an "_EH!_" on the end for good measure).

Lindsay and I both jumped back in surprise; even everyone who had screamed looked at each other in confusion, while Chris rolled his eyes. "Yeah, thanks. The viewers and I figured that one out a while ago…"

"Is that true, Colby?" Lindsay asked, looking at me in confusion.

"Well, it---well, yeah," I admitted, puffing out my chest and trying to ignore my rapidly beating heart. "I mean, of course I like you---how could I not? You're so nice and sweet and really, really, _really _hot---and smart!"

Noah scoffed. Loudly. I turned to glare at him, but before I even had a chance a book collided with his head.

"Stop ruining their moment!" Gwen snapped, shaking her fist. Noah rubbed his head, picking his book up from the ground and glaring at her. I grinned at her thankfully.

* * *

**Gwen:** (shrug) What can I say? I'm a romantic at heart.

* * *

I turned back to Lindsay, feeling my face heat up again. I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. "So...yeah. I really like you, Lindsay, and I have for a long time. And I'd rather get booted off the island for crashing than see you get unfairly booted off because _someone_" (Heather scoffed and turned up her nose) "is going to be a selfish, ungrateful jerk." I smiled at her nervously, letting out a fake cough. "So, um...w-what do you think?"

"Oh Colby!" Lindsay said, hands clasped together; her bright blue eyes seemed to be shining with tears. "That is _so sweet!_"

And with that she ran forward, bent down and kissed me.

* * *

**Colby---uh, we mean Cody:** I think I handled that situation very smoothly.

* * *

"Oh yeah! Go Cody! Go Cody! It's your birthday! It's your birthday!"

"If you had any idea how ridiculous you look right now, I think you would kill yourself," Noah muttered as I continued to dance across the sand.

Lindsay gasped. "Oh, Colby! I didn't realize it was your _birthday _too!" Noah facepalmed with a loud sigh.

* * *

"Well, Codester, it's been great having you, but it looks like it's time for you to go."

"Aw...goodbye, Cody," Gwen said, giving me a hug as I stepped onto the Dock, suitcase in hand.

"Yeah, man. Stinks what this bozo's doing to you," Duncan said. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder towards Chris, who scowled.

I shrugged. "Eh. No big deal. I had a great time."

Ezekiel grabbed my hand as I passed him and Bridgette, shaking it so hard my whole body shook. "Great to meet yoo, Coody. Thanks again for the whoole snake thing."

I shrugged, pulling my hand away before my brains scrambled. "No problem. Izzy did most of that anyway."

Noah was next lined up on the dock. His arms were crossed as he glared at me. He looked annoyed. "Great Just _great,_ Cody. You just had to go and be the knight in shining armor, didn't you? Way to go. Now what am I gonna do without any intelligent conversation here to keep me sane?!"

"_Hey!_"

"Er---I mean except for you, honey!" Noah looked away from her, still annoyed. "But still...she doesn't know _anything _about _Star Trek..._"

I patted him on the shoulder, chuckling. "Don't worry, dude. Maybe you'll get voted off next!"

"Oh, great comfort."

I chuckled again and walked past him. The last two people on the dock were the ones I most and least wanted to see.

"Heather," I said evenly. She scowled and turned away, wrinkling her nose. Lindsay glared at her before bending down to wrap me in another hug.

"Oh...thanks again for what you did back there Col---uh, I mean, _Cody._"

I grinned. "Hey! You got my name right!"

She giggled. "Yeah. Sorry I always do that; I'm really bad with names. But Greta and LaFonda said they would help me try to fix that."

From down the dock, I heard a series of exasperated sighs.

"Anyway, thanks a lot! I hope I see you at the finale!"

"Sweet. I hope I---oh..."

She kissed me on the cheek. As she drew away I rubbed the spot, feeling my whole face burn.

I threw my suitcase into the Boat and hopped on board. Chris shouted to the driver and the motor started, sending me away from the island.

"Bye guys! Good luck!"

"Bye Cody!"

"Bye man!"

"Bye Cody!" Lindsay said, waving at me and smiling her amazing-sweet smile. I felt a goofy grin spread across my face as I waved back.

Before the boat got out of earshot, I heard Leshawna sigh from the back of the group. "That there was one of the most romantic things I have ever seen."

"You said it," Bridgette agreed.

"What?" I heard Duncan scoff. "That wasn't so romantic."

"The guy sacrificed his chance at a hundred grand for his girlfriend! Not even girlfriend," Gwen said. "That was _amazing._"

"You said it, girl." Leshawna turned to glare at Duncan and the other two. "_You_ guys could learn a lot from him."

The remaining three guys all turning to look at each other nervously. I laughed to myself, thinking of the comments Noah, Duncan and Heather had made about me just earlier that day. "_Now_ who's the lady's man," I muttered, as Lindsay's waving hand was the last thing I saw disappear as the boat curved around the island coast.

* * *

_**Epilogue**_

"You know, I kind of wish Zeke was still here," Bridgette said, spreading suntan lotion on her arms and leaning back to stare up at the cloudless blue sky. "It would be kind of fun to tease him that only us girls made it to the final four."

Lindsay, laying on her stomach on a towel, blinked up with confusion. "But...wait. If Ezra was still here, wouldn't that mean it _wouldn't_ be all girls, then?"

"Uh---well---you know what I mean."

Leshawna chuckled. "Fun as that'd be, you _know _that ain't fair, girl. Your man only got kicked off to save _your_ behind from getting eliminated."

"Oh, that's not true," Bridgette said, unconvincingly.

Gwen laughed. "Yes it is! The way you freaked out when Chef turned up in that hocky mask---and you could totally tell Ezekiel knew who it was."

Bridgette smiled slyly. "Well, he _was_ a pretty bad actor."

"Yeah, remember---'_ooh, uh...I'm scared, eh?'_"

Leshawna laughed. "Yeah. But I will admit wetting himself was a nice touch."

"Most romantic pants-wetting ever!"

"Okay, okay," Bridgette said, glaring at the giggling girls. "But you know _you're_ only still here because Noah threw himself under the truck for you, Gwen."

"Oh, come on. You guys really would have voted me off?"

"We were thinking about it. We had the kick somebody off that week, and the way you were lording that big dinner over us...you should have seen Noah, though. Boy _begged_ us to get rid somebody other than you."

"Yeah," Lindsay said. "But you know, LeFon---er, Les_hawn_a, Doyle did the same thing after you accidentally let those animals out of that cage."

"Well, that was mostly his fault anyway..."

Gwen laughed. "Wow. It just occurred to me that _all_ our boyfriends just got voted off for us."

"I know!" Lindsay said, clapping her hands together. "My Cody's such a trendsetter!"

"Well, at least there's one thing you two have in common," Leshawna said. The girls all laughed.

* * *

**JoeMerl:** Whoo, finally finished this story! And if you're wondering about Ezekiel's seemingly random comment about a snake, that's me alluding to my _next_ new TDI story. Clever, eh? Or stupid, I honestly can't decide. Hoping to whet some curiosity or something, though I have no idea when it'll come out...anyway, hope you enjoyed, please leave a review and all that.


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